Ready Or Not

# Ready Or Not with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

The combination of Intel’s 24-core Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA’s Ampere-based RTX 3070 produces a fascinating split in Ready Or Not: at 1080p the frame rates are so high that the CPU is clearly feeding the GPU without breaking a sweat, while at 4K the GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the decisive bottleneck. This pairing ranks 1252nd out of 2947 tested combinations in this tactical shooter, placing it in the upper half of all systems, but the scaling behavior reveals a component balance that shifts dramatically as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data tells a clear story about where the limiting component sits. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 302 FPS average, which is a remarkable figure for a game that often involves dense indoor environments with dynamic lighting. Dropping to 2560x1440 Low yields 190 FPS, a 37% reduction, and at 3840x2160 Low the average falls to 99 FPS, another 48% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern—where each resolution step roughly halves the frame rate—is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU’s 24 threads and 5.80 GHz boost clock are more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 3070’s demands.

The High preset shows a similar trend but with steeper cliffs. From 239 FPS at 1080p to 151 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 79 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p), the relative decreases are consistent across settings. What’s notable is that the gap between Low and High at each resolution is significant—at 1080p it’s 302 vs 239 FPS (21% difference), at 1440p it’s 190 vs 151 (21%), and at 4K it’s 99 vs 79 (20%)—suggesting that the GPU is scaling its workload linearly with both resolution and quality settings.

The Ultra preset exposes the GPU’s limitations most clearly. At 1080p Ultra, the combo still manages 168 FPS, which is playable for competitive purposes, but at 1440p Ultra it drops to 106 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it collapses to 55 FPS. That 4K Ultra figure is just 18% of the 1080p Low result, and the gap between Ultra and High at 4K (55 vs 79 FPS, a 30% penalty) is much larger than at 1080p (168 vs 239, a 30% penalty as well, but from a much higher base). The data implies that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM is being saturated at 4K Ultra, given that the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its 96 ROPs are likely the binding constraints.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Ready Or Not if I want over 100 FPS average?*

A: The data shows that 1440p with High settings delivers 151 FPS average, and 1440p Medium hits 166 FPS. Even 1440p Ultra stays above 100 FPS at 106 FPS average, making 1440p the highest resolution where every preset meets the 100 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 perform at 4K in this game?

A: At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 99 on Low to 87 on Medium, 79 on High, and 55 on Ultra. The min FPS on Medium is 74, which suggests that even the mid-range preset can dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes, while Ultra clearly struggles.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The 302 FPS average at 1080p Low and 239 FPS at 1080p High indicate that the CPU is not limiting performance at this resolution. The 24-core processor with a 5.80 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom, as the FPS drops align with GPU workload increases rather than CPU saturation.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1252nd out of 2947 tested combinations, placing it in the 57th percentile of all tested systems. This is a solidly mid-upper tier result, reflecting strong 1080p and 1440p performance but weaker 4K capability.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070’s average benchmark score of 17208 is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083), 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037), and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40c by 1.5% (17468).

Q: What is the CPU’s percentile ranking compared to all processors?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807, a 0.2% difference, while the AMD EPYC 4584PX is 1.1% behind at 83090.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture using TSMC’s 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz can boost up to 5.80 GHz, and the chip carries 36 MB of shared L3 cache plus 3 MB of L2 per core. This is a desktop-class CPU with a 125 W TDP, and its synthetic benchmark results are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and a single-thread score of 4823.

In Ready Or Not, the CPU’s role appears to be largely about maintaining high minimum frame rates and ensuring the GPU has a constant stream of draw calls. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low—where the GPU is processing 302 frames per second—the system never appears CPU-limited, as the frame rate scales consistently with resolution and quality changes. The 24 cores and 24 threads are likely underutilized in this tactical shooter, which typically relies on single-thread performance for game logic, but the 5.80 GHz boost clock and 7303 Cinebench R23 single-core score provide ample headroom.

The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of desktop chips. Compared to its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, it is 0.2% faster in average benchmark score, a negligible difference that suggests the “Plus” variant offers only a marginal clock advantage. The AMD EPYC 4584PX, a server chip, is 1.1% slower in average score, while the EPYC 9135 is 1.2% slower. This CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this combo, as the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K follows the GPU’s workload curve almost perfectly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 302 FPS average, Medium hits 263 FPS with a min of 224 and max of 302, High reaches 239 FPS, and Ultra drops to 168 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 134 FPS, which is substantial, but even the lowest 1080p result remains far above typical monitor refresh rates. The min FPS on Medium at 224 indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system stays well above 200 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results are still strong but show a clear step down. Low averages 190 FPS, Medium 166 FPS (min 141, max 191), High 151 FPS, and Ultra 106 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 84 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor. The 106 FPS Ultra result is notable because it remains above 100 FPS, making 1440p Ultra a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limitations become evident. Low averages 99 FPS, Medium 87 FPS (min 74, max 100), High 79 FPS, and Ultra 55 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS is the only preset/resolution combination that falls below 60 FPS, and the Medium min of 74 FPS shows that even mid-range settings can experience dips that might be noticeable in intense firefights. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at each preset is roughly 48% (e.g., 190 to 99 FPS on Low), which aligns with the pixel count increase of 2.25x, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1252nd out of 2947 tested combinations in Ready Or Not, placing it in the upper half of all systems tested. Given that the RTX 3070 is an end-of-life GPU from 2020 with a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, and the CPU is in the 96th percentile, the overall combo rank reflects a system where the GPU is the weaker component. The 1252nd position out of 2947 means the combo outperforms roughly 57% of tested systems, which is respectable for a mid-range GPU paired with a top-tier CPU.

The RTX 3070’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 1.5% of its average score of 17208. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083) is 0.7% slower, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037) is 1% slower, the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019) is 1.1% slower, and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468) is 1.5% faster. This tight grouping means that in-game performance differences among these GPUs are likely to be small, but the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth give it a clear advantage in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K Ultra.

The combo’s rank is also influenced by the CPU, which is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1-1.2% faster than the AMD EPYC 4584PX and EPYC 9135. However, the EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% faster than the 290K Plus, indicating that the CPU’s performance is competitive with server-class parts, though those are not typical gaming CPUs. The data suggests that this combo’s rank is driven primarily by the GPU, as the CPU is among the fastest available.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1080p, the data shows that even Ultra settings deliver 168 FPS average, which is more than sufficient for any monitor. The step from High (239 FPS) to Ultra (168 FPS) costs 71 FPS, but both are well above 144 Hz, so the choice between them depends on visual fidelity preference. Medium at 263 FPS is the highest average below Low, but the min FPS of 224 suggests that the extra headroom from Medium might be useful for future content updates.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 106 FPS average is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it stays above 100 FPS. High at 151 FPS offers more headroom for variable scenes, and Medium at 166 FPS provides even more, but the min FPS on Medium (141) shows that even this preset is not immune to dips. For players with 144 Hz monitors, High (151 FPS) is the recommended preset, while those with 165 Hz displays might prefer Medium (166 FPS) to maintain a consistent frame rate.

At 4K, the options are more limited. Low at 99 FPS is the only preset that approaches 100 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. Medium at 87 FPS with a min of 74 FPS is the best balance, as it stays above 60 FPS in all measured scenarios. High at 79 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom, and Ultra at 55 FPS falls below 60 FPS, which may result in noticeable stuttering in a tactical shooter where precision matters. The data indicates that 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this combo.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung’s 8 nm process, with a GA104 chip containing 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. It features 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU’s base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost of 1725 MHz, and it has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FP32 performance is 20.31 TFLOPS, and the texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s.

In Ready Or Not, the RTX 3070’s role is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates, especially at higher resolutions and quality settings. The 8 GB VRAM is likely the hard limit at 4K Ultra, where the game’s high-resolution textures and effects can exceed this capacity, leading to the 55 FPS average. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is also a potential bottleneck, as the 4K scaling shows a near-linear relationship with pixel count, suggesting that memory bandwidth is being fully utilized.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmarks reflect its mid-range status: a PassMark G3D score of 22214 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162. Its 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs means it outperforms 61% of the GPUs in the database, but it is outclassed by newer and higher-end parts. The nearest rivals are all within 1.5% of its average score, which indicates that the RTX 3070 is positioned in a crowded performance band where small architectural differences matter more than raw specs.

The GPU’s 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high settings, as the measured FPS data confirms. However, the 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS shows that the GPU is stretched to its limits when both resolution and quality are maximized. The data implies that the RTX 3070 is best suited for 1440p gaming in Ready Or Not, where it can maintain above 100 FPS on Ultra, while 4K should be reserved for Medium or Low settings.